Indian Organisations Condemn Arrests at World Water Forum: Reiterates their Opposition to Water Privatisation

Nearly 100 representatives of people’s movements, civil society organizations and concerned individuals from India condemned the arrest, deportation and repression of protestors at the WorldWaterForum (WWF), on March 16 at Istanbul, Turkey.

In a joint statement released today they said: “We condemn the undemocratic nature of the WorldWaterForum and urge the WorldWater Council to respect and support the rights of all people to speak freely and protest peacefully.”

Two activists were arrested, detained and later deported for unfurling a banner reading “No Risky Dams” at the opening ceremony in protest at the WorldWaterForum‘s promotion of destructive dams. Riot police used water cannons and tear gas against 150 peaceful protestors, for protesting outside the conference hall before the inaugural.

The statement said, “We call on the participants of the WorldWaterForum to embrace democratic, smarter and cleaner solutions and recognise Right to Water as a fundamental right and not to advance the agenda of privatization and commercialisation, with huge social and environmental costs.” They also demanded that the WorldWaterForum should not be organised by the WorldWater Council, but by United Nations.

The banner that was unfurled in the WWF inaugural session, which lead to the arrest and deportation.

We, the representatives of people’s movements, civil society organizations and concerned individuals from India, condemn the arrest, deportation and repression of protestors at the WorldWaterForum (WWF), in progress at Istanbul, Turkey on March 16. Outside the conference center just before the inaugural function of the WorldWaterForum riot police used water cannons and tear gas against 150 peaceful protestors who shouted “water for life, not for profit” in opposition to the WWF’s agenda of water privatization and river destruction. Seventeen protestors were arrested.

As the opening ceremony of the WWF began, International Rivers’ South Asia Director Ann-Kathrin Schneider and Climate Campaigner Payal Parekh unfurled a banner reading “No Risky Dams” in protest at the WorldWaterForum‘s promotion of destructive dams. They were arrested and are in jail since then.

The WorldWaterForum takes place every three years. It is organized by the WorldWater Council, a private organization whose most influential members are private water companies and some of the world‘s biggest dam construction companies, funders and government agencies.

We condemn the undemocratic nature of the WorldWaterForum and urge the WorldWater Council to respect and support the rights of all people to speak freely and protest peacefully.

The water and energy policies promoted by the WWF around the globe destroy communities and the environment. The past experience of mega dams in India and elsewhere points towards that. We call on the participants of the WorldWaterForum to embrace democratic, smarter and cleaner solutions and recognise Right to Water as a fundamental right and not to advance the agenda of privatization and commercialisation, with huge social and environmental costs. The WorldWaterForum should not be organised by the WorldWater Council, but by United Nations.

Signed by:

Amit Bhaduri, Professor Emeritus, JNU, New Delhi

Medha Patkar, Narmada Bachao Andolan, Madhya Pradesh

Himanshu Thakkar, SANDRP, New Delhi

Shripad Dharamadhikari, MANTHAN, Madhya Pradesh

Madhuresh Kumar, CACIM, New Delhi

Anil Varghese, New Delhi

Nimmi, Greenpeace, Bangalore

Satabdi Das, Association for India’s Development, Bangalore Chapter

Pritpal Randhawa, Insitiute of Development Studies, University of Sussex , United Kingdom